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If no one sees a protest does it make a sound?

By SAM D. KENNEDY

I recall an old song that went, “What if you held a war and nobody came?”

What if some idiots hold a protest, complete with signs saying they hate America, Bible believing Christians and rich people. What if they say, they love gays and same sex couples, and believe everyone should be given free beer and a very large pension from birth, so long as they do not have to work for it, and they be allowed to destroy this country which supports these loafers who have nothing to do but run around waving signs, but no one was around to broadcast pictures of protesters throwing rocks at police and then screaming police brutality?

What kind of protest would it be if you can’t get your picture on TV? Such treatment would deprive protesters of their constitutional rights and cable and TV their right to ratings.

I have a strong feeling that if you pulled the cameras, you would lose over half of the protesters.

There are many things wrong in our country. The greed of Wall Street is a stench in all our nostrils, and too many people are out of work. The president and the Congress should address these problems, if they can find time between campaign stops.

But these problems can no more be cured by street riots and loud mouths than can the Trayvon Martin tragedy.

Our ancestors gave us a legacy of rational discourse under law. We are a nation of laws. Disputes should be solved by the courts, the congress and by elections, not in the streets or by rude television screaming.

The police of Chicago are doing a good job in controlling the NATO protesters, but I am afraid that our visitors from Europe, who have a history of solving problems in the streets, will think they have never left home.

In spite of this rubbish, my question still is: Could we really have a protest if nobody came and took pictures?

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Sam D. Kennedy is publisher of the Lawrenceburg Advocate and a former editor and publisher of The Daily Herald.